


It Wasn't Even a Big Deal

by cantabrasil03



Category: Free!
Genre: Do I even ship it?, F/M, Gen, What am I doing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-05
Updated: 2013-08-05
Packaged: 2017-12-22 12:48:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/913402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cantabrasil03/pseuds/cantabrasil03
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Iwatobi high school swim team had enough shenanigans on its hands,so it shouldn’t have been surprising that some things simply fell to the wayside of everyone’s attention. Little things, really. Things that were not a big deal to begin with. The five times no one noticed and the one time everyone (including Rin) did.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It Was So Cliche

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this little mako/gou comic: http://tmblr.co/ZKsUxqrFObKV  
> I own nothing.

It had become habit for Gou to show up while the boys were fixing the run-down pool. She usually brought them juice to reward them for their hard work. Nagisa was energetic in his thanks, Haru was last to be dragged away from his work to take a break for a drink, and Makoto- well- he would give her a smile that seemed somehow out of place with the rest of his person yet was so very Makoto. 

She brought his drink over to him as he was finishing painting the fence. As she knelt next to him to hand him the bottle, he gave her the usual smile. No one noticed the blush that dusted their cheeks when their fingers touched.


	2. Catch Your Smile

It was cold that April day when Haru decided he had enough waiting and jumped right into the pool before the chlorine tablets had a chance to dissolve. Nagisa cheered and Miss Amakata smiled and shook her head. Makoto declared defeat- who could win against a pool when Haru was involved? 

No one noticed when Gou caught his eye and gave an exasperated smile. 

No one noticed when he smiled back.


	3. Latissimus Dorsi

Everyone knew Gou liked muscles. She had no problems singing the praises of Haruka's triceps or Rei's deltoids. Usually Makoto was the one to act appropriately shocked at her elegies, until the day came when it was his turn. It was toward the end of practice, and he was getting ready to practice his backstroke start.

"Amazing, simply stunning lats!" Gou sighed as he pulled himself up to the block.

No one noticed Makoto failed to even defend himself against her attentions.

No one noticed his blush as he kicked himself back into the start.

And no one noticed that he kept blushing long after he recovered from his 100.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *the latissimus dorsi is the muscle responsible for giving male athletes that amazing V shape in their backs. It's especially prominent in swimmers, and backstrokers really show it off when they get into position for their starts*
> 
> yes I know this because I married a swimmer. 
> 
> His lats are glorious.


	4. Jade

Gou had a secret.

It wasn't a shameful secret. It wasn't even a secret, really. If anyone had bothered to look, they would have seen.

Of course, no one bothered, and Gou wasn't about to go unbuttoning her shirt to show everyone.

The secret lay in a charming little jade pendant on a braided cotton string, tied in a secure knot around her neck. It was in a brilliant shade of green, and Gou thought nothing had ever suited her better.


	5. Preen

They couldn't account for it. They couldn't even begin to try.

But when Gou squealed that Mako's obliques were works of art, he didn't blush. He didn't protest.

He preened.

Just a little bit, just enough that someone who didn't know Makoto very well, like Rei or Miss Amakata, wouldn't even notice. But Nagisa and Haru knew Makoto very well.

And they knew that he positively glowed under her praise.


	6. Little Indignities

Everyone noticed, though, the day Makoto showed up to practice, Gou beside him, sporting a spectacularly bruised cheek and a sheepish smile. Nagisa and Rei were shocked. Mako just kept smiling while Gou turned an interesting shade of red. Haru was feigning disinterest, having already seen Makoto that morning on the walk to school and getting the entire story.

Apparently that weekend Rin had finally decided to pay his mother and sister a visit. His mother was at work, but his sister was home.

And she had a guest.

When Rin entered his sister's room, he found her up against the wall, a stranger against her.

Suffice to say there were hands under a skirt and way too many buttons undone. The next instant, Mako had a bruised cheek, Rin was in a state of shock when he realized just who he had hit, and Gou was running to get ice.

But this story was shared only between Mako and Haru, because Makoto knew that his best friend would be discreet enough not to say anything to anyone.

Mako gave Gou's hand a squeeze (it was then that the others noticed they were holding hands in the first place).

Nagisa's shrewd eyes darted from Mako to Gou, to Mako, back to Gou, and then…

"Gou! You used your sex appeal!"

She sputtered, blushed harder, and promptly ordered them all to get in the pool and get started on the damn workout.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I'm not sorry.


End file.
